DJI Phantom 4 Rumors & Leaks

Everything about the DJI Phantom 4 including launch details, confirmed Leaks and Rumors. An announcement event is taking place on march 1st.The next huge release in Drone history is around the corner. Stay tuned to all updates, enter your email at the end of the article!

UPDATE12: Front anti-collision sensors confirmed! Well if we didn’t need further proof that the DJI Phantom 4 was launching on Tuesday, March 1st, here is a photo taken of the DJI Go App with the Phantom 4 ready for connection. There are a couple of very interesting things in this leaked image:

Look at the two front Vision Detection Sensors (visual cameras). At a minimum with these frontal sensors in addition to the larger VPS Sensors at the bottom of the drone, giving it the ability to sense and detect obstacles in flight. We will have anti-collision capabilities for the front and bottom of the aircraft.

The propellers shown give us the best look so far at the way they are mounted to the Phantom 4. The wider propeller base makes room for a quick-release mechanism allowing for faster propeller installation.

Compared to the earlier leaked images of the Phantom 4 (see below) the camera has been slimmed up a bit. It is no longer as bulky as seen in the previous images.

The message scrolling at the bottom of the screen mentions the Front sensors and how they should be turned off for certain types of flying (perhaps at night).

In addition to all this, the top of the Phantom 4 will have no vents, except maybe tiny slots on the tops of the motor cans. This will make the quadcopter more weather resistant than the previous models.

This may very well be a beta app photo taken as we’re pretty sure DJI won’t release just one model type of the Phantom 4 Series. We expect at least two models at launch, similar to the Professional and Advanced of the Phantom 3.

UPDATE11: We analyzed the leaked images of the Phantom 4 battery compartment and compared it to our Phantom 3 Professional. The body of the Phantom 4 is quite taller than the Phantom 3 in order to house the new large battery and all the other internal components. The VPS System and Anti-Vibration Board and the yaw gimbal motor have been moved inside the Phantom 4 shell. We knew the battery is going to be bigger, but didn’t realize just how huge this new Phantom 4 battery was going to be!
For the following two images, we took our Phantom 3 Professional and overlayed the battery compartment from the leaked Phantom 4 photo (scroll down to see original). Then we overlayed the original Phantom 3 battery compartment to showcase the huge size difference.

Another comparison showing just how large the Phantom 4 battery is. We expect at least a 2-3x size increase in battery size.

UPDATE10: Further leaked images of the DJI Phantom 4 in flight in addition to details of the huge battery tray and gimbal have appeared:

Phantom 4 in flight over water. Here we also see the complete propellers for the first time. DJI has stayed with the integrated hub design most likely with the composite hubs as on the Phantom 3.

First glimpse of the new extra large battery tray. You can also see a three-prong plastic prop mount. This could hint towards a new quick release propeller design. The masking tape on the body is only there to hold the paper in place. Perhaps this was a prototype and the final design of the shell needed to be a bit larger for remaining components such as GPS Receiver.

Here we have a first look at the new gimbal. You can see the double supported camera including the ribbon cable going back up the gimbal. The bottom of the Phantom 4 features the mesh cover, allowing for cooling.

UPDATE9: Our initial leaks are confirmed! These images taken from the Teaser Video (see below) match the leaked pictures we reported earlier in feb.

The battery grip as visible in the teaser video with matching grip panel for increased friction while removing the battery.

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UPDATE8: DJI just released the Teaser Video for the Phantom 4! All the featured Phantom 4 parts are detailed here.

You can see the various angles at the beginning of the video which represents the top center of the new drone. Later in the video you can see the mesh grill over the vent openings. Additionally, you can see the circular covers of the (hopefully included) anti-collision sensors we mentioned below.

UPDATE7: The latest leak contains something called the DJI Phantom 4 Tomato. It appears to be from a support document or screenshot of a prerelease version of the DJI Go App.

UPDATE6: Dealers received notification of the Phantom 3 Series Pricing Roadmap which details the recent $999 Phantom 3 Pro price drop. There is mention of a new model which will be geared towards “enthusiasts” and cost around $1700. Now there are several ways this can play out. Either DJI releases the Phantom 4 and it comes with many of the features customers are willing to pay an extra $700 for, or this new drone will open up a whole new series of quadcopters and be placed between the Phantom and Inspire product categories.

UPDATE5: DJI’s Patent for “Systems and Methods for Target Tracking” was just published on Feb. 4th. It hints at an improved method of tracking users which may be featured in the upcoming DJI Phantom 4.

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UPDATE4: The first leaked photos of the DJI Phantom 4 are here! Our initial report of the tall motor cans turned out to be correct. As you can see in the photos below the Phantom 4 features a polished white plastic finish compared to the Phantom 3 series. The new gimbal supports the camera on both sides for additional stability. The Visual Positioning System (VPS) is built straight into the body and no longer a separate module as in the previous version of the Phantom.

The previously leaked photos of the taller and larger motor cans are confirmed with this above photo. Here we get a first peak at the overall shape of the Phantom 4.

The bottom of the Phantom 4 showcasing the new improved gimbal and integrated VPS System. Just to the bottom of the VPS and gimbal area there is a new sensor. Our hope is that this is some sort of object avoidance system, even though that would require more sensors than just in that area. Another interesting point is the anti-vibration board. Up until the Phantom 3 series DJI had to use the vibration absorption board with the soft plastic vibration dampeners. In the photo above a new style of dampener appears to be inside the body of the Phantom 4. If the motor inside the shell is balanced against vibration through the base of the yaw motors can for example, it could be possible to have a camera that rotates much further on the yaw axis, than on previous Phantoms.

UPDATE3: Leaks are appearing left and right. Here is a claimed image of a 6K camera as normally printed on the side of the camera lens. I say it’s photoshopped, what do you think? Let us know in the comments. (Confirmed Fake)

UPDATE2: We have just received word that DJI is sending out Save the Dates for a major announcement in New York at 11am EST on March 1st 2016. More information and a formal RSVP will be sent out to the Press and certain Dealers.

Is this the new Phantom 4?

UPDATE: Images of what appear to be part of the new DJI Phantom 4 shell with a motor and part of the new Intelligent Battery have been leaked. From the photo of the battery you can see the grip used to remove the battery has become more ergonomic with a larger area to squeeze and grab the battery. The image of the motor with part of the new Phantom 4 shell is interesting, we can’t quite imagine DJI releasing the Phantom 4 drone with the motor can sticking out that high. The fact that the can of the motor is so tall makes these leaked images along with the little images/emojis all over the image less credible. Be sure to Subscribe to keep up to date with our DJI Phantom 4 Leaks

Partially hidden DJI Phantom 4 product name as we’ve been used to seeing on the Phantom series of batteries

New wider Grip on the top of the battery for easier removal.

New supposed motor for the Phantom 4. The fact that the entire can of the motor is sitting on top of the arm makes this image less credible.
Image Credit: sb-dji

You are probably wondering what DJI is planning for the Phantom 4 Series of drone or quadcopter. The DJI Phantom 4 Rumors we have come across:

A Follow me mode without having to carry the remote control with you. This seems like a logical next step as it’s difficult to ride a bike for example while holding the current remote control with the smartphone or tablet in your hand while riding. We could see two kinds of solutions for this. One being a GPS enabled wristband or smartwatch which allows you to leave your remote control behind or put away in a backpack. The second option may be just using your GPS enabled smartphone in addition to a small adapter which would communicate with the drone or with the remote control stored in your backpack.

Longer flight times through more efficient motors and ESC’s. We don’t see a need for a higher voltage battery than the current 15.2v 4480mAh Intelligent Batteries. Compared to the Inspire 1 (18min flight time) for example, the Phantom 3 (23min flight time) has excellent flight times. Through the addition of an anti-collision system, we could see the flight time stay the same or slightly decrease.

Object sensing, avoidance or anti-collision technology, similar to the features of the matrice 100 platform.

Sensors such as these integrated visual cameras and ultrasonic sensors could enable the Phantom 4 to analyze obstacle distance data,
ultrasonic data, greyscale imagery and special depth images utilizing multiple sensors to build a 3d image of areas surrounding the drone.